Once Upon a Time Baby Names

www.krishna.com Rani (RAH-nee) is a Hindu girl's name, Arabic, Sanskrit and Nepali for "queen." As a word, it is the feminine form of Raja or Rana, which applies to male rulers. It is still used as a given name today in India. Some sites will tell you Rani means "she sings," but in Hebrew it is a nickname for the masculine name Ran, meaning "he sings," which is where the common misunderstanding comes from. Rani has dozens great namesakes. Because Rani is also a title it's a bit hard to siphon out the namesakes where Rani is a given name. Rani Vijaya Devi is one example. She was a princess in India, but articles do not specifically point out her birth name. Rani Rashmoni founded the Dakshrineswar Kali Temple and played a part in blocking British trade on the Ganges river. Rani Karnaa, born in 1939, was a dancer who was so respected that she recieved the Padma Shri award. There was also a famous Pakistani actress called Rani, and Indian act...

Beryl (BEHR-ill) is a girl's baby name that is also a mineral gemstone, and it has been used since the 19th century. The etymology of Beryl can be traced from 12th century Old French beryl , from Latin beryllus / Greek beryllos , to Prakrit veruliya and Sanskrit vaidurya. It may ultimately come from the city Velur in India. The Greek meaning was considered "precious blue-green, color-of-seawater stone." There are seven varieties of Beryl that often get overlooked, especially as baby name potential: morganite, emerald, aquamarine, maxixe, goshenite, and heliodor or golden beryl, and red beryl (formerly known as bixbite). While Morgan and Morgana are still used as baby names, Emerald is unusual but familiar, and Heliodor, Heliodoro, and even Heliodorus had their day in the sun, Aquamarine is usually reserved for fantasy characters and movie titles, and Maxixe is unheard of. Goshenite comes from the name of Goshen, Massachusetts. Beryl last ranked for girls in t...

The cover of E. Nesbit's Melisande Melisande (MAY-lee-sahnd French, English tend to say MELL-iss-ahnd)  is the French variant of Amalswintha, and the inspiration for the English name Millicent, meaning "strong worker." There has been some confusion on the name's connection to Melissa, meaning "honey bee." There's a possibility that each spelling variation has a different origin - Melisande from Melissa and perhaps Melisande as cognate with Millicent, but that is speculation, and there could be absolutely no connection to Melissa at all. Melisende was a popular name in France in the Middle Ages. This name has quite the list of credentials, including a play, opera, and fairy tale. Besides the play  Pelléas and Mélisande  by Maeterlinck, the opera by Debussy, and the fairy tale mentioned above, Melisande was the alias of a character in the Broadway show Bells are Ringing , a handmaid in the book Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm, a character in The G...

Sweet Cicely Cecily (SESS-ih-lee) is the female variant of the Latin name Cecil, meaning "blind." This name can be found  as early as 1246 with that spelling, and as early as 1210 as Cecilie. Going back further, Sisley is recorded in 1154. Cicely (SISS-eh-lee), however, is the later version of Cecilia (from Cecil, originally spelled Caecilia). Both of these sweet names can have the nickname Cece, although some might prefer the unusual nickname Celly. Or maybe you can borrow the Slavic name for Cecilia, Cilka. Cicely ranked twice 1973 & 1974 but was only given to 16 girls in 2016, and Cicily to 5 girls. Cecily is much more popular - given to 194 girls in 2016, just below the top 1000 (but still far enough removed from it to classify as uncommon, perhaps even unusual). Most notably there is King Richard III and Edward IV's mother Cecily Neville aka the "Rose of Raby." Cecily of York, the Viscountess Welles, was King Edward IV's daughter. There...

15th c. Illuminated manuscript, Cloelia crossing the Tiber Cloelia (clo-AY-lee-uh modern, CLAY-lee-uh original) is the perfect rare alternative for parents who love Claudia (which used to be #200 in 2000 and fell to #761 in 2016) or Chloe (#20 in 2016 and the spelling Khloe #125), but can't come to terms with how popular both of those names have been. If Cloelia isn't quite what you're looking for, Clelia (CLAY-lee-uh) is her twin sister, which in sound is a little bit like Claudia or Kaylee (#70) and a little like Leila (#230 and the spelling Laila #164). Internationally the name Cloelia is not really used, but 19th century Clelia still has a place. Clelia was #187 in Italy in 2015, and was not on the list a few years beforehand, so it seems it's having a bit of a resurgence. In France it was #378 in 2015 and has been on their list of top names since 1982. The height of Clelia's popularity in the U.S. was in 1920 when it was given to a mere 20 girls, and...

Tomyris painting by Castagno Tomyris (pronounced TOM-ir-iss or toh-MY-riss) is the name of an ancient Massagetean queen known for having Cyrus the Great beheaded. Although he had built the largest empire then known and defeated Tomyris's army in one battle, she challenged him to a second and won. Cyrus did try proposing marriage to her in order to gain control over the Massagetae, but she laughed and this probably made him more eager for battle. Tomyris's son, the army general, was captured in the first battle, and he committed suicide to escape being a prisoner. Tomyris sent a message to Cyrus warning him to release her son, but he ignored her and her son died, resulting in the final battle. Her name - originally in the form of Tahm-Rayi š  is Iranian (Persian) in origin, as she ruled in Central Asia and the Scythian language was a branch of Iranian. This article  makes an educated guess that her name either means "iron" or "brave glory." Her name r...

Perdita by Charles Robert Leslie  Perdita (per-DEET-uh) may sound familiar to you for one of two references: either the mother Dalmation from "101 Dalmatians," the Disney movie (or the Dodie Smith novel The One Hundred and One Dalmatians ), or the Shakespeare character from The Winter's Tale . Despite her familiarity, she's exceedingly rare - given to only about 30 girls in the U.S. between 1950 and 1980. In fact, the Social Security Administration shows no record for her after 1970. She was not given to any girls (at least not more than four) in 2016. Which is mind-boggling given her literary credentials and upbeat, classy sound. The name is even rare in its home country, where only 7 girls were named Perdita in the U.K. and Wales as of 2013. They say Shakespeare invented the name. Meaning "lost," from Latin perditus , it suited the character. In Perdita's story, she is left as an infant to die. Her mother, Queen Hermione, is imprisoned because ...

Ailani (EYE-law-nee) is a Hawaiian girl's name meaning "chief," which makes it a very powerful yet feminine name. If you're thinking about nicknames, you could call her Ali, Aia, Lani, Aila (sounds like Isla) or even Annie. This name did not rank in the U.S. top 1000 until 2016 with a rank of #913. In 2015 Ailani was given to 206 girls, 300 in 2016. Perhaps with the new Disney movie Moana , this and other Hawaiian names will gain interest.

Nelleke is the female Dutch version of the Latin girl's name Cornelia, meaning "horn; war horn." It is a pet form just like Nell. Pronounced NELL-eh-keh, this name also shares a fun resemblance to the name Nellary which was used by Frank L. Baum in the Wizard of Oz book "The Lost Princess of Oz," in which Princess Ozma cannot be found. Nelleke is so rare to English speakers that I cannot say for sure it has ever been used in the U.S. There are not any very well known namesakes, but a quick Google search reveals that the name is in steady use. Nelleke Noordervliet, for example, is a Dutch writer, and Nelleke Penninx is an Olympic medalist (rowing) from the Netherlands. Cornelia, a familiar but unused name, was once very popular. In last ranked in 1965 but had been in the top 200 when the SSA started keeping name records. In English she became more widely used in the 17th century, possibly thanks to the Dutch. We get the word cornucopia from the same root as h...

The Old Germanic girl's name Ermintrude has a meaning that can be interpreted a few different ways. This ancient and archaic name comes from irm / erm , meaning "entire," and either traut , meaning "beloved," or thruth , meaning "strength." From this the total meaning could be "entirely loved," or "entire strength." However, it is possible the name refers to Ermen, the Germanic god of war, and thus her meaning would be "Ermen's maiden." Her name can also be spelled a handful of other ways, including Ermentrude, Ermyntrude, Ermentraude, and other variants with an I replacing the first E. Ermengard (Irmingard) is another variant meaning "whole enclosure." Ermintrude was used occasionally until the 19th century. There are two Ermintrudes you should know about. The first is Ermentrude of Orleans, Queen of the Franks and wife to Holy Roman Emperor / King of West Francia. (Interestingly, her mother was named En...

This Latin name meaning "beautiful view/lovely vista" is one rare baby girl name that fits right in today, alongside Elva, Bella, and Ava. It stemmed from place name usage, likely bella vista , and remained uncommon throughout history. In the U.S. the most it was used was 185 times in 1927, slimming its way down to 5 births in 2007 - the same amount it started out with in 1882. Belvia, an elaboration of Belva, stopped being used in 1969, never used more than 21 times in a year. Below are four historical namesakes. Belva Lockwood, women's rights activist who ran for president in 1884 and 1888 - the first woman on official ballots. American author Belva Plain. Belva Gaertner, the inspiration behind character Velma Kelly in "Chicago." Not to be confused with Beulah Annan. American journalist Belva Davis, now age 81.

  Roxelana Hürrem Sultan ("the cheerful one"), from Ottoman Turkish, was known as Roxelana in European languages, as well as Roxolana, Roxolena,  Roxelane, Rossa, and Ružica.  Roxelana could be a nickname that plays on her Ukranian heritage, from the ancient Roxolani, meaning "bright alan, " from the medieval kingdom Alania (by the way, Alania would make an excellent name option). In that case Roxelana would mean "the Ruthenian one," essentially "Ukranian." In Arabic she was known as Karima, "the noble one." It is possible her true name was either Aleksandra or Anastasia by way of Nastia. Roxelana has two known pronunciations: ROH-zell-ah-nah, and ROX-el-ah-nah, but I believe the first option is correct.  In the 1520's Roxelana was captured by Crimean Tatars, and brought to the palace of Suleiman the Magnificent. It wasn't long before she was promoted from servant to consort of the Turkish Emperor. She was then freed fro...

Cathay - Better known as William Cathay in order to fight as a soldier, the woman named Cathay Williams was the first African American woman to enlist in the military. Her name sounds a bit like Kathy, making it familiar, yet Marco Polo used it to refer to China. Belle - Sojourner Truth, defender of women's rights, was born Isabella Baumfree and called Belle. Belle is not in the top 1000. Sojourner helped recruit African American troops for the Union during the Civil War. Poppy - Not only do we wear poppies on Remembrance Day thanks to the poem "In  Flanders Fields," but a poet named Moina Michael also wrote a poem in which poppies symbolized the blood of heroes. Araminta - Harriet Tubman was born Araminta and known as Minty (and while Minty may not make the best nickname today, Minna, Minta, or even Ana might). The Underground Railroad is one of the most famous parts of the Civil War. Hattie and Harriet , for the same reasons above. Jeb - Jeb Stuart, aka J...

Miike Snow - Silvia I was going to include Silvana and Silveria and the male forms of this name in this post, but I think I'll save them for another time and just mention that all Syl-/Sil- names share the same meaning, "[from the] woods, woodland, forest." They all come from the name Silvanus, and he was the Latin god of the forest. More rare variants include Sylvette, Sylvina/Silvina, Silvania/Sylvania, and Sylva/Silva. Silvia is the major Latin version of the name, while Sylvia and Sylvie/Silvie are the English variants. Sylvie is usually thought to be French, but it can also serve as a nickname. All forms have a silvery, gilded, romantic and sophisticated image, while still being quite childlike and playful. While Sylvie has never ranked, Sylvia ranked from 1880 (and likely well before that) until now. In 2011 Sylvia ranked at #554, and has been in the 500's for the last decade. It has been slowly falling since it was #50 in 1937, which was its highest rank...

  Christabel Pankhurst was the inspiration for today's post. Born in 1880 (the year the U.S. started keeping track of how many babies were born with a name per year) this suffragette from England helped found the Women's Social and Political Union, even while in exile. She was one very inspirational woman, from going to prison to support her beliefs, to writing a book on how sexual equality would help protect women from sexually transmitted diseases. She earned a law degree, but was unfortunately not allowed to practice. Her parents believed in causes and raised their children (Christabel, Sylvia and Adela) to do great things. Her mother  Emmeline  was a political activist and suffragette as well, helping women win the right to vote. Emmeline was named one of the "100 Most Important People of the 20th Century" by Time in 1999, and she as well was raised by politically active parents. Emmeline's husband, Christabel's father, supported women's right to ...

Jessie Bayes, The Marriage of La Belle Melusine Melusine (mel-oo-SEEN) is a girl's baby name originating from the tale of a fresh water spirit, including rivers and springs, sometimes half-fish and sometimes half-serpent, occasionally with wings, but definitely considered a fairy, if not part dragon. She appears on many Coat of Arms, including some in Germany. In Poland this was because she was supposedly the water spirit from the Vistula River in Poland, who identified the place to build for Boreslaus (Boleslaw) in Masovia in the 13th century. Jean d'Arras wrote an extensive chronicle of Melusine around 1382 based on oral tales like  Le Roman de Melusine . In these stories her mother was the fairy Pressyne (Pressine, Pressina), discovered by King Elynas (Elinas) of Albany, and they were married. When the king disobeyed her marriage condition - not to view her giving birth or bathing their three female triplets, she left the kingdom for Avalon. Melusine and her sis...

Do you have to be of Native American ancestry to name your child Seneca, or any other Native American baby name? Personally, I don't think so. In my opinion, since we live in the United States, which was originally just Native American land, it honors our ancient country. Seneca, unisex, is the name of a Native American tribe that is part of the Iroquois Confederacy, and today's Iroquois League was also known as the Five Nations or the Six Nations. The Seneca tribe lived furthest west. Their name is Onöndowága, meaning "People of the Great Hill." It is only by coincidence, but Seneca was also the name of a Roman philosopher and statesman, tutor and advisor of the emperor Nero, who lived B.C. and wrote Oedipus . In Latin, Seneca means "old." Those named Seneca could be in reference to either the statesman or tribe. Heavyweight boxing champ Floyd Patterson named his daughter Seneca after the name of the street he was on while trying to think of a goo...

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline is all the rage right now online, popular with pretty much everyone, and it is easy to see why. It is familiar like Emma and Emily, currently two of the most popular names, and Emmeline is a little unique, mysterious and alluring, and rare enough that you think you've heard it before, but haven't. In fact, in 2010 there were 140 baby girls named Emmeline. It was also popular in medieval times. Other variants and names that are very similar are as follows: 13 Emalina, 40 Emaline, 117 Emalyn, 6 Emalyne, 40 Emalynn, 36 Emelin, 35 Emelina, 75 Emeline, 98 Emelyn, 5 Emelyne, 9 Emelynn, 11 Emilene, 10 Emilina, 10 Emiline, 73 Emilyn, 5 Emmalena, 15 Emmalene, 75 Emmalin, 76 Emmalina, 203 Emmaline, 370 Emmalyn, 14 Emmalyne, 215 Emmalynn, 19 Emmalynne, 6 Emmelin, 13 Emmelina, 140 Emmeline, 21 Emmelyn. Amelina is an Italian form of the name, and the spelling Amellina dates to medieval times. It is hard to tell if the names listed above are true variant...

Olympia (oh-LIM-pee-uh), which can also be spelled Olimpia or Olympe, is an old European classic that the world should be familiar with, given the title of the Olympic Games. (The actual site of the ancient Olympic games is named Olympia, Greece.) Both the games and the name Olympia are in reference to the Olympian gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus. In fact, it is Greek, meaning "from Mount Olympus." There are a few well known Olympia's out there. Alexander the Great's mother, actress Olympia Dukakis, Senator Olympia Snowe, French playwright and political activist (feminist and abolitionist writing) Olympe de Gouges, and Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark (born in 1967). Not to mention several ships, buildings, songs, art, and even an oyster. Olympia was last seen on the SSA's charts in 1925 at #984. In 2010 there were only 28 baby girls named Olympia (and none with the Olimpia spelling). Talk about an underused classic. It even comes with cute nic...